Plumbing glossary: U
If your plumbing diction only gets as far as the U-bend, we can help. Our quick and easy plumbing glossary will have you spurting out complete plumbing lingo in no time.
U-bend – a section of a waste pipe that is shaped like the letter U, which stops smells coming back into the property – Battersea-based plumbing company U-Benders created a pun of the word to form their popular brand’s name, attracting an array of celebrity customers, including Julian Clary
ULF – Ultra Low Flush – a widely used description of toilets that use 1.6 gallons per flush or less
UNC – Unified National Coarse Thread – standard type of stiff, straight thread used on fittings, nuts and bolts
UNF – Unified National Fine Thread – standard type of thin, straight thread used on fittings, nuts and bolts
Ultra coil – double wall heat exchanger
Uniformity coefficient – a measure of the variation in particle sizes of ion exchange resins and filter media – it is defined as the ratio of the size that has 60 per cent of the material finer than itself to the size of the particle that has 10 per cent finer than itself
Union – three piece fitting that joins two sections of pipe but allows them to be disconnected without cutting the pipe, primarily used with steel pipe
Urinal – plumbing fixture that receives liquid body waste and conveys the waste through a trap seal into a gravity drainage system
Urinal strainers – domed metal piece fastened to the bottom of a urinal to prevent debris from blocking the trapway of the unit
Usable storage – percentage of hot water that can be drawn from a tank before the temperature drops to a point that it is no longer considered hot
Utility sink – deep fixed basin supplied with hot and cold water, used for rinsing mops and the disposal of cleaning water
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